Chapter 113

*Rainelle’s POV

Karmeut went back to work.

If I hadn’t appeared like that, I wouldn’t have made such a huge impact on my image.

I stretched out the wings on my back to relax my body.

These wings were huge, like wings depicted on angels, but the feathers were black like a crow’s. The golden pattern on the inside of the wings looked intense because of the color contrast. If there was a red color, it would look like burning charcoal.

I flapped the wings slightly. Then, as the feathers fluttered, the wings gradually became smaller and smaller, and then they disappeared completely.

—It’s a little empty.

“…Phew, it was really hard to make a sound argument for Karmeut. Hmm, did I change too fast f I was a crow?”

I sighed and sat down on the sofa.

—Remembering the crow deity that I met a while ago, my mind became complicated.

Still… It’s good that I was able to achieve what I wanted… But now that I’m like this, I feel like I’m going to die of patheticness and embarrassment of when I was a crow. Sigh… Even if being not so smart is inevitable because crows have smaller brains than humans, it wasn’t only once or twice I’ve done stupid things because of that…

I erased my thoughts by shaking my head vigorously as I recalled the past.

Hey, I can’t change what’s already happened. Rather than swallowed in regret, let’s think about what is in store.

When I thought of Aria and Namuel, my temples were throbbing again.

In the game, Namuel’s route had a path where Karmeut will be dead.

Since the route is of Namuel, the best thing for the story is that Namuel becomes emperor…

I thought about whether I should steal the fruit, but there was a reason why I couldn’t act so.

What if there is such a thing as deterrence, and even if there is no fruit, Namuel awakens? What if it is already fated? —If that’s the case, wouldn’t I create an unexpected situation by stealing the fruit?

When I was a crow, I had a big heart for Aria, but now I was more concerned about the unpredictable variable. That was why I still couldn’t choose the option of stealing the fruit.

Changing the future does not necessarily guarantee that things will work well, and I thought about the possibility that it would get worse. But I came to one conclusion:

Still, it’s better to know what will happen rather than to be completely unaware, so let’s just let the story go without taking Crobanlock from Namuel.

That’s the best. Of course, the story won’t be completely like in the original game. First of all, I am here. And there’s Miel who is loyal to me, and…

For me, there’s a special existence.

I clenched my necklace, the gold necklace that Karmeut had given me before I was eating Crobanlocke. A voice came out of the large sapphire pendant.

“Why did you call me, sweetheart?”

“Um, Black Bird-nim?”

“You can call me Mother.”

“Umm, that’s still a little weird for me.”

“Really? Hmm, what should I be called then?”

I sighed briefly at the lightly vibrating necklace that seemed to radiate happiness.

I can’t believe she gave me strength, but I never dreamed that I would be able to communicate with a ‘Godly being’ in real time like this. If the priests find out, they will froth in the mouth and faint.

A soft voice reached my ears as I was thinking nonsense,

“Then call me Eileen.”

“—Eileen?”

“Yeah. It’s one of many names, but if you don’t like ‘Mother’, this isn’t a bad choice.”

Eileen’s voice as she said “I think I will grow to like it more if my child called me,” sounded like she had a smile.

“…don’t you like it?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just, I’m embarrassed.”

“Hm?”

“I didn’t know we could even talk like this.”

After I said that, a low voice rang out,

“If you fly high, you can see everything. But that’s how far it goes. —So I just want to see the earth from a closer distance through the first child that reached me.”

“…what about coming down here yourself?”

“That won’t do, you know?”

Ah… that’s true. Usually, there are very few cases where a God appeared directly.

…The Black Crow is the deity of crows, but well, a Godly being is still a Godly being.

I sighed briefly, organizing my thoughts.

It wasn’t just strength that the Black Bird gave me.

I thought back to when I was complaining and grumbling about my diminishing intelligence after possessing the body of a crow.

Feeling thrilled about what I’ve gained now, I gave my hand a little more strength. I blinked as I felt the hard, cool object becoming warm.

She may be here just to watch, but the Black Bird is there. We can talk.

…what a relief.

I didn’t know that having someone to talk to with ease besides Aria gave me such a sense of security.

“When a child is anxious, it is the parents who are supposed to hug them, my dear sweetheart.”

“…after all, I’m not even a perfect crow, am I? My soul is that of a human being. Even so…”

“Do you think I’ve done and given you too much?”

“…To be honest, yes.”

“You don’t hate it, do you?”

“I don’t hate it! It’s just… You’ve given me so much unconditionally… I’m just puzzled and anxious.”

“Hm?”

“I’m afraid I’ll lose everything unexpectedly if it’s like this.”

There’s no such thing as anything free.

As I finished my words, I looked at the sapphire. The jewel gleamed blue under the sunlight.

“Baby, there’s one thing you don’t know.”

Huh? Something I don’t know?

I blinked my eyes at the words.

“For parents, there is no need for a reason to give something to their children.”

A gentle laugh followed. It was a very pleasant, happy laugh.

“So don’t be too anxious. And you’d better believe in yourself a little more. The power you originally have is not so light.”

… Somehow, just hearing her voice reminded me of a time when a black bird spreads her wings and shakes them lightly.

“The first child to reach me. The meaning is greater than you think. And I gave you just that much power.”

My back got warm. It felt like I was being hugged by someone. It was like… being in the arms of a strong protector.

“You are a crow, and yet, also not a crow. If you utilize your power, you can become a guardian of the country, but now, those powers are still unfamiliar to you.”

The gentle voice continued,

“Don’t be afraid that you will lose it, my lovely child.”

At those words, I smiled involuntarily.

“You are the queen of crows. And you are the queen of all flying beasts with wings and fur.”

With those words, I realized once again how much power I had gained.

Queen of crows and queen of all flying creatures.

…it’s weightier than I had imagined, which made me scared in a different way. So I asked Eileen,

“Um… Eileen, -nim.”

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“…will I be able to do well as a queen? If I brought harm to the crows by mistake…”

“Just to be able to think like that, means that you are a great queen. And about being the queen, you’ll soon realize that it’s different from being a ruler in human concept.”

I shut my mouth at that.

—Different concept? But what’s the difference?

Speculations flashed through my mind and then vanished.

—This is not important now. The top priority is Namuel right now. There’s the chance that he’ll become a berserk wolf.

I thought about it again.

Should I leave it as is? To let him eat the Crobanlock, awaken the power of wolf and demon sleeping in his blood, and went berserk?

In the fight, the golden wolf dies. And when the winning wolf is intoxicated with a sense of victory, his beloved lover approaches and calms him down.

…that was the original story of Namuel’s route.

I didn’t want Karmeut to die, but I was more concerned and afraid of unpredictable variables which can carve an unknown path.

I hope Aria’s side is going well too. Also, I want to save Karmeut, who is going to die.

–Will the Queen of crows be able to stop the wolf who is going berserk because of magic?

“—I need to meet Aria first.”

In a way, I didn’t know if I was being too greedy. In order for Karmeut to survive, I didn’t know what would have to be given up.

I wanted the best result, but I also wondered if it could produce more unwanted results.

It was not entirely impossible if this stubbornness would lead to the worst ending, in which Karmeut died and Aria’s love was broken.

…but to avoid that, I met Eileen-nim. So… it’s different than before. Now I have to meet Aria.

When we meet, it was necessary to reexamine Namuel’s route once again. My way of thinking of when I was an ordinary crow and now was different.

So when I hear it again, I may have a different idea.

A way for Namuel to awaken, for Karmeut to not die, and for me and Aria to live happily with our respective partners.

I turned into a crow and looked back for a moment.

—As for Karmeut… it would be better if I go and come back quickly without telling anything.

He would be a little worried if he found out, but since he has seen what happened before, I don’t think he’ll say much.

Slightly flapping my wings, I flew towards Aria’s manor.

—Now that I looked like an ordinary crow, I have to fly at a high altitude so that I wouldn’t be hit with stones.

Fortunately, Aria was in her mansion. I was slightly impressed by her graceful tea-drinking posture in the garden.

Maybe it’s because it’s the body of the original heroine, but she looks very pretty. Should I say it’s like she’s from a painting?

Since I had something to talk about, I sat on a nearby tree branch. Then I raised my voice and cawed several times.

The maids seemed surprised. At the same time, I could see them furrowing their eyebrows as if displeased.

“Everyone can go.”

But Aria gave an order to all those maids at once. When the maids left the garden completely after bowing, I landed near Aria and transformed into my human figure.

“Rainelle! Did you see that earlier? A big black bird flew to the Imperial Palace!!”

As soon as I changed form, Aria poured those words out, apparently very excited. It was funny and cute of her, so I smiled while shrugging my shoulders.

“…Huh? No way, could it be… That…”

“…Aria is very quick to read the room. That’s right. It was me.”

“Really?! Awesome!!”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter at her gaze that stared at me blankly while muttering ‘awesome!’ in succession.

I was still giggling when she approached me and spoke with a force that seemed to be grabbing me by the collar.

“Tell me in detail. What happened? After you ate Crobanlok, you turned into a human, didn’t you?! Then what’s that?!”

“Wait, wait, I’ll tell you, so step back a bit. It’s a bit suffocating.”

At those words, Aria’s expression became even more strange. Then she muttered as she took a few steps back, as if in doubt,

“—You are Rainelle, right? But something’s…”

“Different? Of course. I can turn into such a big bird.”

“That too, but—“

“If you listen to my explanation, you’ll understand why I’ve changed so quickly. Are you going to continue standing like that?”

Hearing that, Aria sat down in her seat. She then shook her head as if she couldn’t get used to it.

“What the…”

Seeing Aria like that, somehow I felt like I took the lead this time, so I felt happy. That was why I couldn’t stop laughing.

…But right now, it’s more important to check again about Namuel’s route than to tease Aria, so I’ll explain things to her quickly.

Since Karmeut’s safety is on the line, I managed to stop laughing and start explaining. When I told her that I met the Black Bird, which was the deity of crows, after flying so high by borrowing the power of a high-level spirit and then receiving power because of it, Aria’s mouth was agape.

“…Did Rainelle take the main character buff? Rainelle was the first crow to meet the Black Bird?”

“The crow elder said that those who ate Crobanlock still had no reason to seek the deity. So, yeah…”

“It’s not difficult to imagine, but how is your luck…”

“Very good, isn’t it?”

At that, Aria nodded her head blankly, and then she let out an “Oh!”.

“Then, even when Namuel goes berserk—!!”

“—That’s exactly what I went to see the Black Bird for.”

At my answer, Aria threw an admiring gaze.

“…that’s how precious Karmeut is to you, huh.”

“You, too. Don’t you think preciously of Namuel?”

“That’s true, but I don’t think I’m as good as Rainelle. If you ask, can I love Namuel even if I have to sacrifice something, I won’t be able to answer right away.”

I quietly looked at Aria who said “It may be that I’m not that desperate yet,” while shrugging her shoulders.

I planned to keep the fact that I can communicate anytime with the Black Bird, Eileen-nim, a secret.

Aria is so cooperative right now, but no one knows how things will change when the situation comes. Isn’t there a saying that love is blind? That’s why… I should at least hide a few things.

So that even if the worst happens, I can act right away.